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James Duckworth will be hoping to become one of the first Australian men through to the third round of the 2015 Australian Open when he faces smooth-hitting Frenchman, Richard Gasquet. Join The Roar for live scores from around 1:00pm (AEDT).
The opening round matches for these two players could not have been more different.
Gasquet moved past Carlos Berlocq in three sets, dropping just five games in the process.
Duckworth on the other hand endured a five-set epic against Blaz Kavcic to secure his place in the second round.
Needless to say, the early toll that such starkly different matches have on each players’ preparation for this match will come into play.
Just three sets in the legs of Gasquet versus five already in the legs of Duckworth could be detrimental to the young Australian if he does manage to push the game into a fourth and fifth today.
And in order to pull off a win against the seeded Frenchman, push the game into a fourth and fifth set is exactly what Duckworth is going to need to do.
Gasquet will win sets in this match, so the only hope for Duckworth reaching his first ever Grand Slam third round is to stretch the match to a fifth set and then grit his teeth and fight.
One thing that will be on Duckworth’s side is the crowd. Although never advancing far at Melbourne Park, Duckworth has developed a reputation as a fighter, and qucickly accumulated a strong contingent of support.
He will need the green and gold supporters out in strong numbers today to help him dig deep at the inevitable moments when Gasquet gets on top in the match.
In three second round matches, Duckworth has failed to advance. Perhaps the fourth time will be the charm?
Join The Roar for live scores from around 1:00pm (AEDT). If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
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